


Let's get you wasted and alone

by failte



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Prostitution, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:01:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23724985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/failte/pseuds/failte
Summary: Jack Kelly would do whatever it took to get out of Skid Row
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53





	Let's get you wasted and alone

**Author's Note:**

> Based loosely off the song Skid Row from Little Shop of Horrors

Broom in hand, Jack swept the floor. He used to make up songs while he worked or danced or acted out a scene to keep it entertaining but he gave up years ago. He used to find the flower shop beautiful. He used to love the colors of the flowers that surrounded him from the floor to the ceiling, the vines that spiraled across the ceiling. He used to love the smell of freshly bloomed flowers, of dirt, but he didn’t anymore.

At first it was home. A little orphan boy picked up off the street, promised a home in return for some help in the shop. It seemed like a fair trade but as he got older, the shop got worse. Business was always slow down in Skid Row. People avoided it like the plague.

Even Jack wanted out of Skid Row.

The streets were filthy, the people were just as filthy.

He hated it. He hated his life. It was a miserable life but he had hope of getting out.  
  
  


For now, he wanted out of the shop. He hung up his apron, putting the broom back into the closet.

“I’ve finished!” Jack yelled, heading to the door. He was just a hair to tall to sneak out without getting seen.

“Jack, you know better,” the shop keeper called from the back. Jack swallowed, his shoulder slumping and his head dropping. “Your rent is due.”

Jack wished he could get out but he’d been stuck in this place for far too long. He knew there was only one way to keep the shop keeper from getting angry with him. He’d do anything to keep him happy. If it meant that he didn’t have to pay for a room, too.

His feet dragged as he walked to the back, finding the shop keeper on a chair, tapping his foot impatiently. Jack dropped to his knees in front of the man, unbuckling his belt and leaning forward.

It was as disgusting as the first time he’d done it and that was saying a lot. He’d been paying rent this way for far too long but it kept the shop keeper happy.

“Your mouth was made for this,” he always said, touching Jack’s hair like he owned the boy. He would pet his head like he was still a child. He wasn’t, not anymore. Maybe that was why the shop keeper always closed his eyes when Jack paid his rent. Imagining him as the seventeen year old who was just naive enough to think it was okay. Pretending like the twenty year old on his knees, blowing him was still just a child.

Jack was ashamedly good at sucking dick. Even so, he never tried with the shop keeper. He did just enough to get him to come, spitting it out into a sink on his way out of the shop because he didn’t want a single piece of that man inside him.

Jack used to cry when he paid rent but he hadn’t in at least a year. He resigned himself to keeping his tears for his pillow. He held onto hope that he’d get out of Skid Row, that he’d find a way, someone, willing to help.

He left the shop and walked down to the only bar in town. He used to sneak in but everyone knew Jack by that point. He had a small pack of index cards that he kept in his wallet. All of them read the same two words.

_Blowjob Extraordinaire_

And extraordinaire he was. He’d started practicing too young when rent started being due. He thought that if it could pay rent, why couldn’t it fill his pockets too? That was why he snuck into the bar. Handing out his faux business cards to lonely men who were just shameful enough to take Jack out back and hand him fifty bucks to come in his mouth. He was allowed into the bar without sneaking when the owner of the bar became one of his best clients.

Nobody in there called Jack out about still being a minor because they knew that would be the last time they felt his mouth. God knows they weren’t getting anything from the few women still left in this town. They kept quiet because Jack was the only thing that replaced their hands.

They didn’t come to Jack every night. He capped his business at four or five men a night. Just enough to hurt his jaw but enough money to slowly build towards his future.

He figured he needed quite a bit of dough. Enough for a bus ticket, for an apartment until he could get a job, for food. He didn’t know how much any of that would be but he assumed it was a lot. He was saving up a lot.

“Boy,” someone yelled from the back of the bar. It was by a fire exit and the sign still said ‘Alarm Will Sound’ but the man pushed it open, like every other man who used Jack, and it never sounded. Maybe it was disabled for the prostitutes who came before Jack.

No.

Jack was not a prostitute. Just a blowjob extraordinaire.

Jack used to get turned on. He found out he liked it a little too much, liked when they (not the shop keeper) grabbed his hair and thrusted into his mouth. He used to get turned on by it. He used to finish up the night before he’d go into the bathroom and touch himself, finish into the toilet with a quiet moan that nobody but him could hear. He used to think it was fun.

Jack couldn’t even remember the last time he’d touched himself.

The next night, Jack was at the bar again. Who was he kidding, he was there every night. He needed the money. He was about to go out back with two men before he spotted a man who definitely, definitely stood out.

He had just come in the front door, walking up to the bar and setting his briefcase down on the floor in front of his stool. He ordered a drink on the menu and from the look the bartender gave, Jack knew it was probably the most expensive thing they had. From the looks of it, this man could afford an expensive drink or three. Jack saw money when he looked at this man. He could probably ask for a hundred for a quick blow and get it without hesitation. A man in a suit made Jack’s pockets happy.

Jack walked up to the stranger sitting down in the seat next to him, ignoring the calls of the other men who were expecting something from him. He leaned up against the bar next to the man, putting on his sweetest smile.

“You’re not from these parts. What brought you down to Skid Row?” He asked and the man turned his attention to Jack.

“Ski- Uh, business,” he said, saying a quick thank you to the bartender as his drink was handed to him.

“Can I get you something?” He asked and Jack looked over to the bartender.

“Shirley temple?”

The man gave him a weird look, wondering why someone would be in a bar and order a non-alcoholic drink but he didn’t comment.

Meanwhile, Jack was formulating his plan. He didn’t know how exactly he’d get it to work. Maybe pull out all his tricks to get this man to fall in lust with him and hitch a ride to a new city with promises of a life together. He’d ditch when he got there. He’d take all his money and find someplace cheap apartment to call home. It seemed easy and this man seemed interested.

“How long are you here for?” Jack asked, keeping the conversation rolling.

“Only a week,” he said and Jack made a small sound of disapproval.

“Hardly enough time to get to know you,” he joked and the man laughed.

“How about we start now? My names David,” he said, holding his hand out. Jack shook it, smiling at him still.

“Jack.”

They talked until the bartender was calling last call, getting ready to close up for the night.

“How about we take this back to your place?” Jack whispered into David’s ear. He was surprised it didn’t take much effort. David paid his tab and then grabbed Jack by the arm, pulling him out the front door. It was a nice change of pace from the dirty back alley he was used to. Everyone in that bar knew what he did but they wouldn’t dare step foot with him out front. Most people in Skid Row seemed to know what he did, even if they pretended not to.

They went to the nicest hotel on Skid Row. It was a place Jack hadn’t set foot in his entire time living there. He never thought he would see it. It wasn’t as fancy as he had hoped it would be, but it would do.

David’s room was orderly. From what Jack could see, David hadn’t unpacked and probably didn’t plan to.

Suddenly, Jack felt pressured. He knew it looked like it was going to be sex and up until that point in his life, Jack hadn’t ever had sex. He’d only used his mouth and he was good at that. He didn’t know when or where he’d go further but he didn’t want it to be now.

“I haven’t,” Jack said, the first time in forever that he’d actually blushed.

“That’s okay,” David said, both of them awkward now that what they had both thought would happen was off the table.

“I could suck your dick though if you’d like?” He offered and David nodded. He sat down on his bed, leaning back on his hands and smiling. He was nicer than anyone else Jack had met. His smile seemed genuine and Jack could already tell that David was cleaner than the rest of the men he’d seen so far.

David seemed different.

But it didn’t feel different. He got down on his knees, the already there bruises aching slightly but this time his knees weren’t wet. He wasn’t kneeling uncomfortably on a rock. When he pulled David’s half hard cock out, it didn’t reek of a lack of showers or whatever else was down there. He was clean. He didn’t taste bad.

He didn’t make Jack gag like the rest of the men.

He almost enjoyed having David’s dick in his mouth. As much as Jack willed himself to get hard, it still felt the same.

Jack thought that he was almost turned on when David spoke.

“God, your mouth is made for this,” he said and David didn’t know any better. He thought it was a compliment in the way of dirty talk. He thought it was okay. If Jack was anyone else, it would have been okay.

Any notion of being turned on went out the window. He was as soft as butter in the hot sun.

David came in his mouth like all the rest.

David asked him to stay the night.

“I won’t try anything. Sorry, I just like cuddling after. Is that weird?”

“No, it’s not weird,” he said, climbing into bed and stripping down to his boxers. He saw his plan formulating in front of his eyes, thinking this was perfect.

“Do you need me to do anything? I’ll suck you, too,” David offered but Jack shook his head.

“I’m good, thanks though.”

He realized that that was the first time anyone had offered to suck him too and he turned it down. He wondered what it was like before he fell asleep.

Jack woke up to an alarm and he shot up in bed. He looked around and realized that he hadn’t ever left. He got so caught up in David that he’d forgotten to go home. He laid back down, realizing how tired he felt then.

“What time is it?” He asked, looking over to David.

“Seven,” he answered, getting up and starting to get ready for work. Jack frowned. The flower shop didn’t open until ten so he had no reason to roll out of bed for another two hours. Jack followed after David, getting up from bed to grab his clothes. He was pulling on his jeans when David sat back on the bed. He was frowning slightly, staring at a spot on the floor. Jack felt like he did something wrong. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to say something after spending the night with a guy. It wasn’t like he was a client per say. Just a means of getting out of town.

He had his shirt on before David spoke.

“Can I ask you something?” He started and Jack nodded. He sat down next to David.

“Sure,” he mumbled, thinking that maybe he really didn’t want to answer this question but he stayed anyway.

“Why were you at the bar last night if you weren’t drinking?” He asked and Jack hadn’t expected that question but he thought it was fair.

“I’m not old enough,”

David visibly leaned away from Jack. The look in his eyes was fright. Jack understood that, too. It sounded bad.

“H-how old?” David asked, swallowing and looking Jack up and down, trying to figure out how he could have missed someone being underage.

“Don’t worry, I’m twenty. I just can’t drink,” he said, laughing quietly. He knew the next question and so he stood up, gathering the last of his things.

“How did you get in? And again, why?” David asked. Jack didn’t want to answer. How is he supposed to tell someone that he’s prostituting his mouth for money? That he goes to sleep with a sore throat but a pocket full of money? It’s not a conversation that ends well and he would rather avoid it.

“Gotta do what you gotta do,” Jack said, walking out the door. He could hear David calling after him, trying to get him to clarify but Jack wasn’t stopping and he did not want to explain.

Jack wasn’t sure if he’d see David that night at the bar. He almost expected to, for some reason. They didn’t exchange contact information, not that Jack even owned a phone. All he had was the flower shop and he definitely didn’t hand that number out. But he assumed that if David wanted to see him, he’d show up at the bar.

But when Jack walked inside, the fancy man in the suit wasn’t there. It was the usual’s who eyed him, who beckoned him with a gross finger, who’s jeans were too tight because their cock was hard, waiting for him. They would lay the fifty dollars out on the table so Jack could see it and then slip it back into their pocket until Jack had got them off. It was the usual. David was nowhere in sight.

Such was business though. He had thought his plan would work but once David starts asking question, the facade of Jack falls apart. He becomes the broken and sad little boy that he has always been. There was no swagger to him. Just enough swagger to get their cock hard and money in Jack’s hand. The rest of him was nothing.

So Jack, like usual, grabbed a man and pulled him towards the back. He didn’t notice the front door of the bar closing as he slipped out the back door.

It never occurred to him as he dropped to his knees, as he came face to face with a hard cock that had a smell. He was repulsed like usual, slightly desensitized. The old Jack might have gagged but the current Jack took it into his mouth, kept going until it hit the back of his throat. Jack rarely tried anymore. The last time he really put effort into a blowjob in the last year was David. He let the man do the work, let the man get his orgasm. Jack was now just a warm mouth and come disposal. But they paid him and Jack took their money gladly.

He swallowed the come, stood up and wiped his mouth. He walked inside, the man following behind him. Jack looked up to the bar and saw David sitting there, staring at him. David looked confused but Jack tore his eyes away from him when the man slapped his ass to get Jack’s attention.

“Here you go, slut,” the man said, handing Jack the fifty dollars. Jack tried to be subtle, not wanting David to know. How could he explain? But subtlety was gone as Jack slipped the money into his back pocket. He knew that David had saw it all as he walked over to the bar.

“Let’s go,” David said, grabbing Jack by the wrist. His words didn’t seem friendly and Jack knew what was happening. It had happened to him before. This was his one shot out of Skid Row and he could see it going down the drain as they stepped into David’s hotel.

David wasted no time as they stepped into his room and the door closed.

“What was that?” He asked, obviously wanting an understanding of what Jack was doing. Jack didn’t want to lay it out on the table. He felt ashamed for the first time in a long time.

“Gotta do what you gotta do,” he repeated, laughing it off. He stepped forward, grabbing at David’s belt, trying to undo it but he didn’t get very far. David slapped his hands away.

“This is serious,” David said, his face obviously annoyed. Jack rolled his eyes.

“I am taking this very seriously, I can assure you,” Jack said, moving down to his knees, fingers tracing over where he knew David’s cock was in his pants.

They went back and forth, David slapping Jack’s hand away before he’d had enough.

“Jack!” David yelled, snapping Jack out of it. Jack stood up, eyes moving from David’s face down to the floor. He felt like he was a child again, getting scolded. “I’m sorry for raising my voice, I didn’t mean to yell at you,” David started and Jack nodded at the apology, “Can you please just be honest with me? I won’t be mad, I just want the truth.”

Jack was quiet for a minute before he sat down on the bed. He was trying to figure out what he should tell David, what he should omit. Where he should even start.

He decided not to omit anything.

“My parents died when I was young. A drunk driver, I think. I was put into foster care and that’s how I ended up here. I’ve lived with the owner of the flower shop most of my life. He was great for a while. He was a good father but his wife left him when I was like ten? They had been having issues and she took basically everything from him. After that, he was horrible. He, uh-” Jack paused, hanging his head. David had sat down next to him and he reached out then, touching Jack’s thigh gently. Jack realized it was the first time he’d been touched in as long as he could remember that wasn’t sexual.

“He got abusive. He hurt me. When I was seventeen he was mad and told me if I wanted to continue living there, I had to do my part. I had already been working in the shop but he-” Jack stopped again but this time he was crying. “He asked for rent. Not money, just-” He couldn’t spell it out for David.

“What you did for me yesterday?” He asked and Jack nodded, “Nothing more?” He clarified and Jack let out a humorless laugh.

“Thank God, no,” he said but David didn’t seem to find that funny.

“How does this explain what happened at the bar? Like I’m sorry that your life is shit but, why would you do that to yourself?” He asked and Jack thought that it was sweet that David thought his worth was more than a blowjob whore.

“I want out. I don’t have any money. I never earn anything at the shop. He says that it almost pays for the space my bed takes up. So when he started making me pay rent, I started getting others to pay me for that. I’m good at it. They need a mouth since they can’t get anyone else and they’re willing to pay me. I’ve been saving up until I know I have enough to make it somewhere else. I want out of Skid Row.”

David didn’t say anything. He stayed silent even when Jack prompted an answer from him.

“I should go. He wasn’t happy with me being gone until morning,” Jack said, standing up to leave. David still didn’t say anything, didn’t call after him like he had that morning.

Jack knew that it was over.

Jack knew that it was over and that his only way out was money.

He walked into the bar the next day, seeing his usual’s sitting at tables, grinning at him like they knew they’d get his mouth for the night. Jack looked to the bar and saw David, a sight he hadn’t anticipated. David was looking back at him, no smile, no grin. It was better than nothing.

Jack walked up to him slowly, unsure of what would happen. He didn’t know if he’d get a lecture, if David would take him out back like everyone else.

“Let’s go back to my hotel,” he said and Jack nodded. He didn’t know if he’d get paid. He didn’t the first night but it was still better than the rest. One night wouldn’t stop him from leaving. It might put him back a day or two but he didn’t care. At least David didn’t smell bad. At least when Jack went home, he didn’t have to brush his teeth five times to feel clean again.

Jack didn’t have time to even drop to his knees before David spoke.

“I don’t want you to do anything. I wanted to lay in bed and watch a movie with you, is that okay?” He asked and Jack wanted to know why him but he didn’t ask. If it meant his plan was still in play then he’d do it.

David put on a cheesy horror movie from pay per view before laying down, opening his arms for Jack. He raised an eyebrow when Jack didn’t move.

“What? Never been cuddled before?” He asked and Jack shook his head.

“No, actually,” Jack mumbled, scooting over hesitantly when David patted the space next to him.

He was stiff as he laid next to David, not sure what he was supposed to be doing when he laid next to David. There were arms around him but they weren’t exploring, weren’t demanding anything and it was so new to Jack.

“Why are we watching a horror movie? It’s April,” Jack said, scooting a little closer to David. He didn’t know when but he decided that David felt safe, David felt like relaxation. He didn’t feel like work. Jack didn’t want to admit it to himself but it was slowly dawning on him.

“What do you mean? Why wait for Halloween? Horror movies are perfect year round,” David scoffed, sounding offended that Jack would limit it to one month a year.

It was halfway through the movie when Jack finally relaxed. He curled into David, grabbed his shirt and rested against him. He had never been cuddled before but he was pretty sure that David was the best cuddler around.

It was halfway through the movie when Jack stopped thinking about the plan. He was thinking about David. He wanted to go with David but he wanted to stay. He didn’t want to ditch David once he got somewhere new, he wanted to stay. He wanted to cuddle more.

The movie ended and David didn’t move. He stayed there holding Jack and it was odd to Jack. He thought that the end of the movie would be the end of whatever they were doing. Surely it was like anything else he did? Once it was over, it was over. He went home and wasn’t seen again until there was more money and another hard cock.

But David was different.

David kissed his forehead and whispered in his ear.

“I hope you know that while it was a little shocking, I don’t think differently of you. I want to get to know you. I think you’re sweet and I’m really sorry that things have turned out this way for you. I’m really sorry if you thought I was mad,” he said and Jack thought that he might cry. He nodded his head, turning into David and holding onto him. He didn’t know much about cuddling but he thought that it was nice.

He fell asleep like that, listening to David’s whispers that complimented, told him how sweet he was, how kind. How he deserved better. Jack had never been around someone like this.

He forgot about his plan. He wanted to be with David. Maybe it was too soon and maybe it was because David was the only person who’d shown him any real kindness in years but Jack wanted him. He wanted a life like this where his nights could be laying in bed and watching movies. His bruises were starting to fade.

Jack went to the bar like usual the next night but he didn’t stay long. David was sitting at the bar like usual but he didn’t stay long. As soon as they made eye contact, Jack left the bar, followed closely behind David. They went to his hotel and for once, Jack didn’t feel bad. He walked into David’s hotel and felt comforted. He felt safe.

“A movie? No blowjob?” He asked, wondering what David was going to do for that night. David stood in the doorway, thinking for a moment.

“Nobody ever gets you off, right?” He asked and Jack almost choked. He shook his head when he regained his composure.

“No. I used to do it myself but after a while, it stopped turning me on. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been turned on,” he said, looking down at his feet. He knew that it was unusual. He was in his prime. Shouldn’t he be out enjoying sex with people? Maybe a boyfriend? The thought seemed so farfetched to him.

“Could I try?” David asked. Jack didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to say hell yeah, wanted to lay down on the bed and let David do as he pleased but the idea didn’t appeal to him anymore. He didn’t think about it and feel any sort of emotion. He shrugged.

“If you want.”

“Do you want it?” He asked and Jack thought for a moment. He didn’t know if he wanted it anymore. But he remembered that David was different, that nobody else in his entire life had offered to get him off, that David wanted to do it because he wanted Jack to feel the same thing that Jack had made so many others feel.

“Yeah,” he said, still unsure if he’d enjoy it. He wanted to try.

David pushed him gently to the bed, told him what to do. It was odd to be on the receiving end but it was kind of nice. There was no pressure for him to do anything. Nobody was shoving their cock in his face, no demands. He was just supposed to sit there and enjoy himself.

But Jack felt broken. He had David on his knees in front of him, he had David touching him, his mouth on his cock. Jack knew that David was good, the same tricks that he always did to others. He looked down and David was so damn attractive to him. He seemed happy to try and get Jack off. But when he looked down, it was easy to see that his cock was limp, that for as hard as David was trying, it was useless.

He tried to stay calm, tried to focus on David, on feeling good. He really tried to enjoy it but he didn’t. He couldn’t get turned on and he felt completely broken.

As hard as Jack tried, he couldn’t stop the tears that formed.

David pulled away and looked up at Jack, not missing how Jack tried to wipe away the tears or how he covered his limp cock that was laying in his lap.

“I’m sorry,” Jack whined, wishing he could hide from David and from everyone else.

“Not working?” David asked, sighing softly. It didn’t come out as angry or disappointed. He felt bad and so did Jack. They were quiet for a long time before David fixed Jack’s pants and stood up.

“Want me to go?” Jack asked, his voice small and his frame small. David looked at him and shook his head.

“No, of course not. How about I put on something and we cuddle?” He asked and it got a small smile out of Jack.

“You aren’t mad at me?” He asked for clarification and David shook his head again.

“No, I’m not.”

True to his word, the television was on but neither of them were paying attention. Jack had his first kiss that night. It was soft, sweet. David’s lips didn’t ask for anything besides Jack being there. They were a source of comfort, just the same as David’s arms.

Jack fell asleep in David’s arms again and even if what David tried hadn’t worked, it didn’t end up ruining his night. He fell asleep content and maybe even happy.

It became an unspoken thing to meet at the bar but never stay. They were back at the hotel and Jack stood by the bed. He still remembered the night before, remembered how badly he wanted it to work.

“Can we try again?” Jack asked, sitting down in the same spot. David looked at him with eyebrows raised.

“You want to?” He asked and Jack nodded, “Sure.”

David started with a kiss, pushing Jack into the bed. It felt different than the kisses last night. They wanted something from Jack but they didn’t ask him to do anything. They just wanted him to feel good. Jack barely noticed the wandering hands that touched, that pleaded with him. He was too distracted by David’s lips to think much more about them.

But that was what David wanted from him. He wanted Jack to relax, to stop thinking. He wanted Jack to go back to just enjoying things, to stop thinking about what to do, what he should be doing, what he’s done before. He wanted Jack’s body to just roll with it without an interfering brain.

Jack was so focused on David on top of him, gentle and sweet as he always was. It took David a few minutes but it worked. Jack pulled away, gasping quietly into the air, eyes wide as he looked up at David.

“Fuck,” he said softly, looking down to where David had his cock in his hand, stoking Jack slowly. He was hard and it was unusual of a feeling to him then but he couldn’t deny that David’s hand felt good.

“Alright?” David asked, his hand slow but insisting.

“Yeah, holy shit. That feels great,” Jack all but moaned. He closed his eyes as David moved, sighed when he felt David’s warm mouth on his cock.

It felt different than anything Jack had done before. It was still soft and sweet but oh so good. Jack forgot about all the times he couldn’t get himself hard, forgot about the night before when he got caught up in his own thoughts and sabotaged himself.

Jack got swept up in the feeling of David’s mouth, in how good it felt.

If it was any other time, he might have felt ashamed at how quick he was to come. He might have given David more of a warning rather than just a strangled moan that he had no control over but it was there and he was panting into the air, his hand fisted in David’s hair.

He hadn’t felt an orgasm in years, hadn’t felt the senseless wash of happiness and ease that came after it. He felt sated, even happy.

Jack was the one to open his arms, already laid up in bed and wanting David to cuddle with him. David obliged, laying down next to him but it seemed that they’d switched places. David felt stiff. He didn’t rub Jack’s back, didn’t kiss his forehead. He didn’t kiss Jack again. It worried Jack, pulling him out of his feel good mood all too fast. Jack didn’t want to ask what was wrong. He didn’t even need to ask.

“You know I leave tomorrow, right?” David asked, sighing and squeezing Jack gently when Jack tried to pull away. Jack waited, hoping for a follow up question, he wanted to go with David. He wanted out, he wanted to be with David. He wanted to follow the comfort that he’d felt the last two nights and he wanted to keep it.

“You didn’t tell me about that,” Jack mumbled, both of them falling into uncomfortable silence. David pulled away, sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to Jack. It wasn’t something Jack had dealt with before even though he knew that David was upset. He had no idea what to do so he stayed quiet. He sat up, not reaching out to touch David or get his attention for fear of the night turning south. He knew it was. He felt the tension in the air, knew that his post-orgasm happiness couldn’t last much longer.

“You didn’t ask me for money,” David said, no question at the end of it. The statement startled Jack.

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t you ask me for money that first night?” David asked, finally giving Jack a question to answer. It was the one question that Jack really didn’t want to answer.

“Can we not talk about this right now? I just want to cuddle,” Jack said, desperately grasping at the last strands of happiness in the room. David turned around then, no smile on his face and sadness in his own eyes. The strands of happiness disappeared in that moment.

“No. I want an answer from you.”

“I don’t want to answer that,” Jack admitted, looking down at the sheets he was sitting on. David didn’t move, didn’t respond. It was almost worse than anger.

They sat that like that for a few minutes more. It seemed that David wasn’t moving until he got an answer from Jack and eventually it broke Jack.

“I was using you. I knew you weren’t from around here, I knew you weren’t staying. I thought that if I could make you like me, I could get you to take me with you. I wanted you to take me out of Skid Row and then I was going to leave and find my own way in whatever city I landed in,” he admitted, cringing when he heard how shitty it sounded. David scoffed, turning away from Jack.

“I swear, that’s not the case anymore! You were so nice when we were watching that movie. I realized that you weren’t like anyone else that I had done things with. You actually cared about me. Fuck, David, I like you. You actually care about me, you want me to be happy. I know it was wrong and I’m sorry but I gave that idea up. I want to go with you but I want to stay with you. I don’t want to leave you,” he tried to explain but he could see from the tension in David’s shoulders that it didn’t matter, the damage was done.

“I like you,” Jack said after the silence stretched on for too long. He reached out to touch David’s shoulders and watched as David flinched away from his touch. David stood up, arms crossed over his chest.

“I think it’s time for you to go,” he said and the statement was flat. There was no anger but no emotion felt worse. Jack didn’t even try to fight it.

He left the hotel with his head hung, tail between his legs as he walked past the bar, not even bothering to go inside and earn money. He walked back to the flower shop, passed the sleeping shop owner who smelled, who hadn’t showered. He looked at the man who any day might ask him for rent, might expect Jack on his knees, sucking him off for his single bed and nothing else.

Jack cried himself to sleep.

He woke up feeling like he had a heavy rock in his stomach. He wanted to stay in bed and never leave but he knew better. He knew the shop owner would come and wake him up, yell at him to get busy. He knew that it wouldn’t end well for him.

Jack dragged himself out of bed, his movements slow. He shuffled out into the shop, putting on his work apron and grabbing a broom. Customers came in so rarely anymore. Skid Row wasn’t the romantic city, men didn’t buy their wives flowers. Some women were lucky if their husbands bought them dinner.

The bell on the door chiming caught Jack’s attention, turning around to find David standing in the door of the shop. He wasn’t sure why David was here. He hadn’t come in before this but he couldn’t say he was disappointed. In fact, he was relieved. David being here had to mean that he was at least somewhat forgiven.

“I need to buy a bouquet of flowers to take back home to this amazing person,” David said to Jack. The shop owner was in the room but even then, David didn’t try to subtly say anything. He didn’t hint, didn’t give Jack a look like he wanted to say something more. The rock in Jack’s stomach grew.

He tried to smile and be polite.

“Roses are usually the most romantic,” he said, doing his job and nothing but that. He’d remember this moment for that night when he was on his knees to try and make money, when he cried himself to sleep. He’d remember that David bought flowers for someone else, that the idea of Jack had already left his mind.

“Roses are good,” he said, following Jack over to where the already made bouquets were sitting in buckets with water.

They didn’t talk much besides Jack asking for money, asking if David wanted them wrapped. The same thing he said to anyone else who came into the shop.

And then he watched David leave. He knew that after tonight, David would leave Skid Row, just like Jack had wanted to do himself. Jack would know that he was selfish in trying to use David, that if he hadn’t been selfish from the beginning then maybe, just maybe, he could have left because David was different. David wanted more from him than a blowjob in a dark alley. He wanted to cuddle, to kiss. He didn’t pressure anything more, didn’t even try when Jack said no. He was different and Jack messed that up.

“Hm,” the shop owner mumbled before walking off into the back.

Jack was grateful for the time alone where he didn’t have to pretend like he wasn’t choking on his own air because someone else was watching. He sat down behind the broken cash register and hung his head.

It wasn’t even a minute later before the bell on the door chimed again and Jack looked up, plastering on a polite smile only to see David in the shop again, holding the flowers out to Jack.

“Is something wrong with them?” He asked, stepping around the counter towards David.

  
“No, they’re for you,” he said and Jack’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

“What? I thought they were for someone back home,” Jack said and David shrugged.

“I might have fibbed. Plus, there was someone else in here and,” David left off, not wanting to say what they both knew was the truth of Jack’s situation.

“Oh,” was all Jack could muster up. He took the flowers, not sure what they meant. The rock in his stomach was gone but he still didn’t know what to think.

“I thought about what you said. I am still annoyed about what your plan was but if you were being honest about that changing then I’ll believe you and I’ll get past that feeling,” David said, putting his hands into his pockets. Jack took a moment, smelling the flowers that he’d smelt a hundred times before. These ones were different though. They smelled sweeter now that they were for him and not just an item to be sold. They were _his_.

“I was being honest. I’m sorry,” he said, a small smile on his lips as he met eyes with David.

“I have to leave by nine tonight. Meet me at the bar. I want you to come with me. Get away from your life here and start something new with me. I know it’s quick but I think you’re worth it. I think you’re great. I want you to come with me,” David said and Jack didn’t know what to say for a long time.

He stood there dumbfounded because he had dreamed of this moment for years. He’d dreamed it in different contexts, formats. He’d met people who didn’t belong in Skid Row that would pop up in his dreams, asking Jack to run away with him but this one was real. He dug his finger into a thorn just to be certain.

“I would love that.”

It was time to close the shop up, just a few minutes before he agreed to meet David, to get away from the hell that he called home. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this happy but as usual for Skid Row, it didn’t last very long.

“Rent is due,” the shop owner said, walking from the back of the shop and into the front. Jack turned around, looking at him and then at the door. He felt that rock in his stomach and reminded himself that he was good at this, he could get it done and run for the bar, run to meet David and escape this hell.

Jack nodded and walked into the back, hating how loud the footsteps were behind him. 

He got to his knees and felt a hand in his hair. It was rougher than normal and Jack had a terrifying thought that maybe the shop owner knew. Maybe he heard David offer to take him away and that this was his punishment.

  
“Go slow,” he said as Jack’s eyes glanced over to the clock. He didn’t have very long before David had told him to meet at the bar.

He closed his eyes as he opened his mouth and he hated himself as he felt the shop owners cock in his mouth. He tried his usual tricks, the hand in his hair tugging painfully against his scalp.

“I said, go slow,” he repeated and Jack felt his last hopes of getting out slipping away. He knew he didn’t have enough money to leave and not be homeless, he knew that David was his one and only shot of getting out sooner rather than later. He didn’t know when later would even be, didn’t know if he could keep his hopes and dreams alive that long to see later.

The shop owner finished his mouth at exactly nine-twenty-eight.

Jack didn’t even brush his teeth the way he usually would. If he had any chance of getting out, he couldn’t waste the time. He ran down to the bar, out of breath as he stepped inside, looking around frantically for the one person who didn’t belong but he was gone. All Jack saw were the usual men, motioning him over, looking down at their laps. They all knew that David was gone, that the one thing Jack’s attention had been focused on was out of the way. They could take Jack out back now, nobody around to stop them.

Jack’s hopes of getting out were crushed. He nodded to one of his regulars and walked out back, dropping to his knees like he’d done so many times and opening his mouth, waiting for all he’s known how to do.

It had been a few months of the same old, same old. Jack still saved money but he wasn’t saving for anything in particular. He’d resigned himself to being a blowjob whore as soon as David left. He knew David wouldn’t return. Who would willingly come back to Skid Row? Much less for a blowjob whore who intended on using him.

Jack had turned twenty-one since David was gone, finally able to drink at the bar. Most of the money he made went into washing the taste of men off his tongue with alcohol. He spent most nights in a haze of alcohol and most mornings in pain from hangovers. It got him through the sadness of nights when he was still stuck.

Jack was stumbling towards the back, one of his newer regulars following, his dick poking Jack’s back when Jack stopped to burp, wondering for a moment if it might change into vomit. He didn’t hear the door open, didn’t hear the way everyone turned to look at the newcomer.

Jack didn’t realize until a hand was roughly grabbing his shoulder to turn him around.

“‘M moving, okay?” He slurred, thinking it was the man taking him out back. It wasn’t.

It was a familiar face. A face he’d seen angry before at that.

“David?” He asked, trying to get his eyes to focus.

There was arguing that Jack couldn’t follow, too far gone in his drunken state. He realized that it wasn’t directed at him.

“Fuck you and fuck your money, he’s coming with me,” one of them said and the hand on his shoulder dragged Jack away.

It took Jack a few moments that he wasn’t being dragged out back. He was out of the bar, stumbling down the street. He recognized the hotel but not the room. He recognized David.

“What?” Jack asked, his mind still struggling to keep up with the changes. He could tell that David wanted to say something, maybe yell but he didn’t.

“Sleep it off, Jack,” David said, sighing and pushing him towards the bed. Jack fell onto it, not moving from that spot.

“Okay.”

Jack woke up hungover, the bed comfier than usual. He didn’t know where he was and he wanted to ask but his mouth was dry and his head hurt.

“Here, drink this,” someone said and Jack got his eyes open enough to grab the glass. He drank the whole thing before sitting up, groaning when it made his headache worse.

“Where am I?” He asked, not bothering to open his eyes. He didn’t want to make his headache worse. After a few minutes of silence, he cracked his eyes open to look around. They landed on David, standing there with his arms crossed. He didn’t look too happy but Jack didn’t feel great so he didn’t ask.

  
  
David was not who he expected to see when he woke up.

  
“You don’t remember anything, do you?” David asked and Jack shook his head.

“After the first couple of drinks and the you know what and then some more you know what, it kind of all goes black,” Jack said, rubbing at his temples. He heard David scoff.

  
“For the love of God, could you please take your life seriously for just once?” David asked, not liking the way Jack tried to play off how low of a point he’d gotten to. Jack shrugged his shoulders.

“I am taking it seriously. I even made business cards for my career,” he mumbled and David’s demeanor seemed to change.

  
“Really? Can I see?” He asked and Jack nodded. He reached into his pocket where he had a small stack of business cards. He’d gone to get them made, even paid for them with the money he was supposed to be saving.

They were all white except for one line of words.

_Blowjob Extraordinaire_

“Are you fucking kidding me, Jack? You can’t for once take seriously how shitty this is? You are making a joke out of your life and making a joke out of me for the fact that I still care about you. What makes it worse is after all that happened, after the fact that you tried to use me, I still offered to take you with me. You can’t even show up to tell me no. You just don’t ever come. I missed my fucking flight because of you,” David said, starting to pace around the room. Jack knew that David had thought of this conversation many times. Jack had done the same.

“Are you done?” Jack asked, raising his eyebrows. He would let David get it off his chest before he explained.

“Yes. Actually, no, one more thing. You’re a fucking asshole.”

“Do you feel better?”

David stood there for a few moments, staring at the ground.

“No.”

  
“Great, cause I’m about to make you feel worse.”

Jack scooted over to the edge of the bed, feeling like he might vomit. Either that or he might cry.

“I was going to go after I closed up shop but he, uh, he made me pay rent. I tried to finish him off as quick as I could be he got mad and made me go slow. I’m pretty sure he heard you. I’m pretty sure he knew that I was going to leave and he did everything he could to make sure I stayed.”

They were both silent, the only sound was David moving to sit next to Jack. David visibly deflated, all of the anger leaving his body once he knew that Jack tried, that he was stuck with the worst person in Skid Row and he couldn’t do anything about it.

“I take it back, I’m the asshole,” David mumbled, bumping his shoulder to Jack’s gently. Jack tried to chuckle but it came out flat and sad.

“Yeah but its okay. I forgive you.”

“What do we do now?” David asked and Jack wasn’t sure. He had nothing left for him here besides the promise of more men who wanted something from him. He didn’t want that anymore.

“When do you leave?”

“A few hours.”

Nobody talked for a long time, both of them sat there staring at the floor. There was so many unanswered questions in the air, so many things they wanted to say but it wasn’t the right time or the right place. David broke the silence.

“Do you still want to come with me?” He asked and Jack didn’t hesitate to answer.

“More than anything. I tried so hard to contact you but I didn’t even know your last name.”

“My last name is Jacobs,” David offered and Jack smiled and nodded.

“Good to know, David Jacobs,” he joked, hoping that he wouldn’t need to remember it, that he wouldn’t need to contact David and beg to be taken away.

“Can you leave now? Just not go back to the flower shop, get in the car with me right now and leave,” David asked and Jack frowned.

  
“But my money,” he mumbled, thinking about the wad of cash he’d hidden in the ceiling.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll help you get a job and you can stay with me. I won’t make you pay rent,” and it was meant to be a joke but Jack cringed, he thought about where his life was at, that paying rent meant lowering his standards, meant getting on the floor to suck someone off who Jack considered to be the worst person ever.

“Then yeah, I can go,” he said and that was it. David didn’t have anything to pack, he’d done it all while Jack was sleeping. They left the hotel and got into David’s car and that was it. Jack was leaving and it felt surreal. It felt like a dream that he’d wake up from and relive as he started his shift at the flower shop. He pinched himself and it was real. It was as real as when David first asked him to go away, when he had a drop of blood on his finger from pressing too hard against the thorn. It was real then and it was real now.

David drove down the road, past everything Jack had known. They passed the bar that Jack would never step foot inside again. The men waiting for him would never know what happened to him. Jack Kelly was just gone, never returning. Maybe one day when he was successful, when he went with David, when his life was considered good he’d come back and see where everyone else's lives were at. He assumed it would be exactly the same, just a few years older. He would be the one who stood out, who didn’t belong.

  
David drove down the road and passed a sign. Jack couldn’t read what it said originally, whatever the town had been called before but someone had spray painted over it to say Skid Row.

David drove down the road and passed a sign.

_Now leaving Skid Row_

Jack reached over and took David’s hand. David tore his eyes away from the road for a second to smile at Jack.

Jack closed his eyes and tried to rest, feeling his hand squeezed and it was the happiest he could ever remember feeling.

  
Jack Kelly was finally out of Skid Row.


End file.
